Abstract

Bungay et al. [Phys. Lett. A 174, 335 (1993)] reported observing polarization plane rotation
in optical reflection at normal incidence from GaAs, an effect that they term
specular optical activity. Their preferred interpretation hypothesizes a partially
symmetric third-rank bulk tensor arising from nonlocality, even though its
existence would violate time reversibility. We present an alternative explanation
based on the derived properties of a nonlocal surface layer that preserves
time reversibility.

References

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